Photograph by: Ward Perrin
, PNG

Inspector Phil Eastwood, a spokesman for the New Westminster police, said the man's condition was unknown while Independent Investigations Office spokesman Owen Court confirmed that a police officer did shoot the suspect.

The incident began around 6 a.m. outside the Starlight Casino after reports of shots being fired. The 24-hour casino was locked down as a safety precaution. Court could not confirm if the suspect had a gun, but said no one else was injured.

Police do not believe the man was at the casino before the standoff began. Eastwood said no hostages were taken in the incident as earlier reports suggested, but Court could not confirm this.

Eastwood said the incident posed no immediate danger to the public. Negotiators spoke to the suspect, but the man's identity is still unknown.

Table dealer Peter Jones was about to finish his shift at 6 a.m. when a supervisor notified him of the lock down that began an anxious number of hours for Jones and his co-workers.

"There were about 20 of us inside the break room," said Jones. "I phoned my wife to tell her what was happening, and we were watching it on TV until a supervisor came in to tell us to turn it off so that we wouldn't traumatize anybody."

Jones would get updates from his wife Nadine via cellphone and it became a waiting game for everybody inside the casino.

Jones said he knows the alleged hostage involved in the original incident. He said she's also a table dealer at the casino.

Meanwhile, the incident caused major traffic delays in the area. The Queensborough Bridge was shut down for several hours but reopened to traffic in both directions early Thursday afternoon.

The IIO will have more information on the incident, including the suspect's condition, Friday morning.